My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
by Rainbowkittens1234
Summary: This story tells the stories of every episode in Season 1, starting with the first episode.
1. Friendship is Magic

A narrator describes two royal sisters who ruled over the magical land of Equestria. The elder sister used her powers to raise the sun, while the younger sister brought out the moon at night. The younger sister became resentful because the ponies of Equestria relished daytime but slept at night. One night, she refused to lower the moon. She transformed into Nightmare Moon, a "wicked mare of darkness," and vowed to shroud Equestria in eternal night. Her sister used the Elements of Harmony to banish her to the moon, and took on responsibility for both sun and moon. The narrator's voice changes to that of Twilight Sparkle, who reads that harmony has been maintained in Equestria ever since.

Twilight walks by Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, and Minuette, who invite her to Moondancer's party. Twilight says she has to study and runs off. She enters a library atop an ivory tower and instructs Spike to find a book called "Predictions and Prophecies". Twilight realizes that Nightmare Moon will return on the day of the Summer Sun Celebration, which is the day after tomorrow. She sends a letter to Princess Celestia to alert her. Celestia's reply to Twilight says that she trusts Twilight completely, but she has to stop reading "those dusty old books".

Spike continues to read Celestia's letter on the way to Ponyville. Celestia tells Twilight that there's more to life than studying, and tasks her with supervising the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville. The letter ends with one other task for her: make some friends.

Once they reach Ponyville, Twilight and Spike visit Sweet Apple Acres to check on the catering for the Summer Sun Celebration first. Applejack cordially greets Twilight and members of her family offer her food samples. Twilight wants to leave, but she grudgingly accepts the family's invitation to stay for brunch.

After brunch, Twilight looks at the cloudy sky and remarks that Rainbow Dash isn't doing a very good job of clearing the sky for the festival. Rainbow Dash says she will do it after she practices some flying moves to show the Wonderbolts at the festival. She demonstrates her speed and agility by clearing the sky in "ten seconds flat." She says she can't wait to hang out with Twilight some more, and flies away.

Twilight and Spike visit Rarity, who is decorating the town hall. Spike is instantly smitten with Rarity. She is shocked by Twilight's messy mane and gives her a makeover in Carousel Boutique. She is impressed when Twilight mentions that she is from Canterlot. Eager to get away from the fashionista, Twilight and Spike sneak out of the boutique.

The last item to check for the Summer Sun Celebration is music. Twilight greets Fluttershy and compliments her bird choir, but Fluttershy is too shy to introduce herself. However, she gets excited when she sees Spike because she has never seen a baby dragon before. She follows Twilight and Spike to Golden Oak Library, where they will be staying. Inside the library, Twilight and Spike are greeted with a surprise party. Pinkie Pie starts talking to Twilight about how she was surprised to see a new pony in town and decided to throw her a party. Twilight accidentally drinks hot sauce and runs out of the room with her mane on fire. In her bedroom on the second floor, Twilight complains that making friends has left her no time to read about the Elements of Harmony. She guesses that Princess Celestia sent her to Ponyville because she thinks the Mare in the Moon is just an "old pony's tale."

In the town hall, Mayor Mare announces the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration, but Princess Celestia is absent. Nightmare Moon steps out of a glowing blue fog and addresses the cowering ponies:

"Am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"

Rainbow Dash tries to fly towards Nightmare Moon, but Applejack pulls her back. Pinkie tries to guess Nightmare Moon's name, but Applejack shoves a cupcake in her mouth to stop her from doing so. Twilight declares that the dark alicorn is the Mare in the Moon— Nightmare Moon. Impressed, Nightmare Moon asks Twilight if she also knows why she's here, but Twilight is too terrified to answer. Nightmare Moon proclaims that the night will last forever, and cackles as a thunderstorm builds up around her, with Twilight looking on in disbelief and fear.

In Golden Oak Library, Twilight Sparkle and her friends find a book about the Elements of Harmony. They learn that the elements of kindness, laughter, generosity, honesty, and loyalty are known, but the sixth is a mystery. The book also says that the Elements are stored in the royal sisters' ancient castle in the Everfree Forest. The ponies decide to look for the Elements and are unaware that Nightmare Moon has been listening to their conversation the whole time.

The ponies enter the Everfree Forest. When they are walking on a mountainside, a cloud of purple smoke triggers a landslide. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash catch Rarity and Pinkie Pie, but Twilight slides to the edge of a steep cliff. Applejack assures Twilight that she will be safe if she lets go of the cliff. Twilight lets go, and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy catch her. Then an angry manticore confronts the ponies. When the other ponies try to forcefully subdue it, Fluttershy tells them to stop. She kindly approaches the manticore. It shows her a thorn stuck in its paw. She removes the thorn and the grateful manticore licks her mane. The thorn dissolves into purple smoke, which zooms away. Next the ponies come across a river blocked by a sea serpent. The sea serpent is upset that a "tacky little cloud of purple smoke" whisked by and tore off half his mustache. Rarity generously donates her own tail to repair the sea serpent's mustache. The sea serpent, extremely pleased and grateful, helps the ponies cross the river. Now the castle ruins are in sight, but the ponies cannot cross a gorge because the bridge is broken. When Rainbow Dash flies to the other side to fix the bridge, three Pegasi appear and invite her to be captain of the Shadowbolts, their group of elite fliers. When Rainbow Dash learns that she must desert her friends to join the Shadowbolts, she turns down the Shadowbolts and ties the bridge so her friends can cross. The Shadowbolts turn into purple smoke, which slithers away.

The ponies enter the castle ruins and find five stone orbs, which Twilight believes are the first five Elements of Harmony. Nightmare Moon creates a purple whirlwind that teleports Twilight and the orbs to another tower. Nightmare Moon and Twilight face off, but Nightmare Moon shatters the orbs. The friends run into the hall and comfort Twilight. Twilight realizes that the spirits of the Elements are present, and explains how her friends represent the elements of honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, and loyalty. The fragments of the orbs begin to circle the friends. A stone orb magically appears over Twilight, and she declares:

"You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!"

The orb fragments form golden jeweled necklaces on the five friends' necks, and Twilight's orb becomes a crown. The Elements glow and the ponies are lifted into the air. A rainbow-colored double helix envelopes Nightmare Moon. The room is flooded with light. When the light fades, the friends discover that the gems on their necklaces resemble their cutie marks, and Rarity's tail has magically grown back. Princess Celestia appears with the sunrise and explains that Twilight had the magic to defeat Nightmare Moon as long as she let true friendship into her heart. Nightmare Moon returns to her original form, Princess Luna. The friends learn that Luna is Celestia's younger sister, and the sisters reconcile and reunite after 1000 years of separation.

Back in Ponyville, Pinkie throws a party to celebrate the royal sisters' reunion. When Twilight tells Celestia that she doesn't want to leave her new friends, Celestia gives her a new mission: to continue studying the magic of friendship in Ponyville and report back her findings. Twilight promises to study harder than ever, much to the delight of her new friends and the citizens of Ponyville.


	2. The Ticket Master

Twilight Sparkle and Spike are helping Applejack harvest apples. Twilight receives two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala from Princess Celestia. Applejack says that if she goes to the gala, she will open an apple stand and earn money for her family. Rainbow Dash crash-lands and asks about the tickets. She tells Twilight she hopes to perform flying stunts at the gala to impress The Wonderbolts and, hopefully, be asked to join their troupe. Applejack and Rainbow Dash argue about the spare ticket until Twilight says she will think about it during lunch.

Twilight comes across Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy, who also want to attend the gala. Pinkie sings a song about playing games and partying at the gala. Rarity dreams about meeting Princess Celestia's nephew and falling in love with him. Fluttershy wants to visit the castle's gated garden and befriend the exotic animals who live there.

When Twilight and Spike are eating lunch, they notice the other ponies go inside, while the waiter asks Twilight if she's going to eat in the rain, but she doesn't notice the rain until she sees that Rainbow Dash left a hole in a rain cloud to keep Twilight dry. Twilight tells her not to do favors in order to get the spare ticket. Rainbow Dash closes the hole and the rain drenches Twilight and Spike, ruining their lunch. Rarity passes by and invites them to Carousel Boutique where Rarity gives both of them makeovers. When Twilight realizes that she's doing it for the ticket she states " that she will have to wait for her decision like everyone else. Afterwards, Applejack offers desserts to Twilight, but she declines. When she goes back to the library, she finds Fluttershy and her animal friends doing spring cleaning. When Twilight asks Fluttershy to leave, Pinkie pulls Twilight out and sings The Ticket Song. Pinkie inadvertently informs the whole town about the extra ticket to the gala. A crowd of excited ponies try to do favors for Twilight, and she escapes by teleporting herself and Spike back to the library.

Twilight discovers her friends already waiting in the library and breaks down, telling them she doesn't want to disappoint anyone. The five friends apologize and say they don't want to go to the Gala anymore. Twilight writes a friendship report to Princess Celestia and decides to return both tickets because she'd rather not go than leave out any of her friends. Princess Celestia sends back six tickets, saying Twilight should have just asked for more. Twilight's stomach starts rumbling and the others invite her to dinner. As the ponies get their tickets, Spike becomes upset that he doesn't get a ticket, but Princess Celestia soon sends a seventh ticket for him. Spike goes outside with the ticket giggling, but he stops as soon as he sees Applejack grinning at him. He immediately pretends he is disgusted that he has to go, but soon runs off giggling as Applejack follows along.


	3. Applebuck Season

At Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack and Big McIntosh survey the huge apple harvest awaiting them. With Big McIntosh injured, Applejack decides to harvest the crop of apples by herself, despite her brother's warning that it's a huge task for just one pony.

When Applejack is bucking apple trees, she sees a herd of cows stampeding towards Ponyville. She diverts the stampede from Ponyville in the nick of time with the help of her dog Winona. Impressed by Applejack's loyalty and reliability, the citizens host a ceremony in her honor. Twilight Sparkle tries to give a speech, but she is interrupted by Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy—who express happiness at the prospect of working with Applejack on various tasks in the near future—as well as Mayor Mare who steps up to deliver a short speech of her own. A visibly exhausted Applejack arrives late to the ceremony to collect her trophy. She has bags under her eyes and yawns frequently.

Later on, Twilight goes to the apple farm to find Applejack. Applejack explains that "Applebuck Season" is when the apples must be harvested. When Twilight asks about her relatives, Applejack says that they only stayed at Sweet Apple Acres for the family reunion, and are too busy harvesting their own crops. Twilight offers to help, but Applejack stubbornly refuses.

Applejack, having promised to help out her friends, shows up late for her appointment with Rainbow Dash. Applejack's task is to jump from a platform onto one end of a catapult, launching Dash into the air to practice flips and spins. Her vision blurry from fatigue, Applejack keeps missing her end of the catapult. She lands on the catapult in one last attempt, but the unprepared Dash is sent flying and crash-lands on the Golden Oak Library balcony. Twilight guesses that Applejack is involved and returns to Sweet Apple Acres to offer help. Applejack has difficulty hearing after hitting her head on a branch, but still declines.

Later, Applejack bakes muffins with Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube Corner while Mr. and Mrs. Cake are away. Applejack's fatigue causes her to misunderstand her friend's instruction, and she substitutes potato chips for chocolate chips, regular soda for baking soda, a cup of sour lemon juice for a cup of flour, and earthworms for wheat germ. When the muffins are baked, Pinkie Pie hands them out to a crowd of ponies, one of whom is Derpy. She exclaims "Muffins!", making it her first line on the show, though Minuette's and Sea Swirl's mouth movements also match the line.

Later, Nurse Redheart takes Twilight to a sick-tent where many ponies lie sick from eating the baked goods, which Pinkie Pie calls "baked bads". Spike, however, gleefully eats the discarded muffins, even one with a wriggling worm in it. Once more, Applejack refuses Twilight's help. Twilight is annoyed at Applejack for being "as stubborn as a mule", and says "No offense" to a nearby mule.

For her final task, Applejack meets Fluttershy in the forest to help round up baby rabbits for Fluttershy's bunny census. Fluttershy tells Applejack to be gentle, but Applejack's rough attitude and Winona's barking frighten the bunnies. Applejack and Winona corner the terrified bunnies, who freak out and stampede into Ponyville, where they eat most of the town's plants, ruin the town's gardens, and make Fluttershy's census impossible to finish. Seeing this, Twilight decides enough is enough and goes to confront Applejack once and for all.

At the orchard, Twilight tells Applejack that her stubbornness caused as many problems with her friends as with her, and that she really needs help. Applejack thinks she's finally finished harvesting, but Big McIntosh arrives to point out that she has only harvested part of the apples. Applejack faints from shock and exhaustion. When she regains consciousness, Twilight tells her that, although she respects the Apple family ways, Applejack must put "a little of her stubborn pride aside".

Applejack finally gives in and asks for her friends' help, which makes the harvesting more efficient. When the friends take a break, Applejack serves them apple juice, thanking them and apologizing for causing so much trouble. Twilight realizes that it is just as okay to accept help from friends as it is to give help. Spike comes by to offer them the worm-filled muffins he found in the garbage, and the disgusted ponies walk off as this chapter ends.


	4. Griffon The Brush Off

The episode starts with Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle spending time in a park, with Pinkie Pie enthusiastically relating some story about Rainbow Dash's aerial acrobatics to Twilight, who is reading a book and not paying Pinkie much attention. Pinkie spots Rainbow Dash flying up above and calls to her, but Dash tells her "not now". Pinkie pursues Dash and calls out to her, until Dash slams into a mountainside and slides down next to Pinkie, who tells her she was going to warn her about it.

Pinkie Pie starts asking around Ponyville for the whereabouts of Rainbow Dash. Once she finds her, Dash tries to escape, but Pinkie Pie catches up with her instantly whenever she stops. After several failed hiding spots, Dash gives up and asks what she wants. Pinkie reveals that she was trying to find her so she could help in playing a prank on Spike. Using a nearby thundercloud, they wait for the baby dragon to exit the town square pavilion. Once Spike is out, upon a signal from Pinkie, Dash kicks the cloud to ignite a thunderous boom, scaring him. The scare causes him to hiccup repeatedly, making him breathe his magic fire at a set of scrolls and transporting them to an unsuspecting Princess Celestia.

After making sure he is okay, the two commence a pranking spree on the rest of their friends. They use water colors on the apples in some of Applejack's apple trees, switch Twilight's pen ink with disappearing ink, and use sneezing powder on Rarity. The "victims" are annoyed, but still amused by the good-natured practical jokes. At a nearby lake, when Pinkie learns that Dash sees Fluttershy as their target for a fake squirting turtle toy, she immediately stops her. She warns Dash that Fluttershy is too sensitive for even the most harmless of pranks. The two end the day by pranking each other instead.

The next day, Pinkie Pie arrives wearing an arrow head band, a pair of glasses with a red clown nose, a droopy mustache, and a party kazoo near Rainbow Dash's cloud-house in the sky, where she meets Gilda, Dash's old griffon friend from Junior Speedster Flight Camp. Pinkie Pie has prepared another series of pranks for her and Dash to pull. Gilda reminds Dash about a promised flying session, and Dash excuses herself, promising to hang out with Pinkie Pie later. Pinkie accepts this, but as she tries to catch up to the two in the clouds later, Gilda intercepts her and tells her,

"_Don't you know how to take "get lost" for an answer?! Dash doesn't need to hang with a dweeb like you now that I'm around. You're dorkin' up the skies, "Stinkie Pie". So make like a bee. BUZZ OFF!_"

Pinkie Pie goes to Twilight Sparkle at the library for advice about Gilda's mean behavior, but Twilight believes that Pinkie Pie is simply jealous of Gilda. The only advice she can give Pinkie is to try to improve her own attitude. Pinkie is upset at Twilight's refusal to take her side, but reflects that maybe Twilight's assessment is true, and enjoys a milkshake alone at Sugarcube Corner.  
Rainbow Dash and Gilda show up in town and, not noticing Pinkie Pie, part ways briefly so Rainbow Dash can attend to some weather jobs. When Pinkie observes Gilda scaring Granny Smith and stealing an apple from a produce stand, she tries her best to justify the situation. The last straw falls when the griffon roars at and drives to tears a well-meaning Fluttershy, who was guiding a family of ducks. Fluttershy flies away, and passes two ponies on the way making strange faces. Tired of the bird-lion's mean streak, Pinkie Pie vows to fix the problem "Pinkie Pie-style."This entails throwing a welcoming party at Sugarcube Corner in Gilda's honor. At the party, the griffon is greeted by Pinkie's joy buzzer handshake. Gilda warns Pinkie that she knows what the pony is up to, but the latter simply brushes it aside and officially starts the party by having everyone in the party welcome Gilda. After the party starts, Gilda falls for most of the pranks set up for the party, to which she hides her growing irritation from the other ponies, including Dash.

The griffon strongly suspects that Pinkie Pie was the mastermind behind the party pranks. The pink pony then preps the griffon for "Pin the Tail on the Pony". As she guides the guest of honor to the picture, Gilda suspects this is yet another prank and goes the other direction, resulting in slipping over a fallen piece of cake and having the 'tail on the other end'.

Gilda finally loses her temper, calling all the attendees at the party "dweebs" and proclaiming Pinkie Pie as "Queen Lame-o" for setting up all the pranks. She then attempts to bail the party with Dash at her side, but Rainbow Dash doesn't move after seeing Gilda's true nature. To everyone's surprise, Rainbow Dash reveals that _she_ is the one who set up all the pranks (not _all_ meant for Gilda). Contrary to the bird's view of the party as a way to get back at her, Pinkie reveals that it was meant to improve the griffon's sour attitude. Disappointed over her old friend's mean behavior towards her new friends, Dash tells Gilda to go find some "new cool friends someplace else" if being cool is all she cares about. Rather than apologize for her behavior and having no proper response to this, Gilda calls Dash a 'flip-flop' and storms out, slamming the door behind her. Rainbow Dash then apologizes to the party attendees for Gilda's behavior, and she and Pinkie Pie make up with a joy buzzer handshake.

Twilight Sparkle apologizes to Pinkie Pie for accusing her of misjudging Gilda, and learns that, rather than try to influence who your friends spend time with, you yourself should try to be a good friend, and trust that the true face of a false friend will eventually be revealed through their behavior. While sending her report at the end of the episode, Twilight plays a prank of her own by tricking Princess Celestia into trying to write with disappearing ink.


	5. Boast Busters

The chapter begins in Golden Oak Library, where Twilight Sparkle successfully performs the last spell of a set of twenty-five. The spell, called "growing magic", gives Spike a mustache. Spike hopes to show it to Rarity, but Twilight says that it is just for practice and makes it disappear.

Later, Twilight and Spike go for a stroll. Twilight says that most unicorns only have a little magic suited for their special talent. Spike points out that Twilight's talent _is_ magic and praises her vast knowledge. However, Twilight modestly denies having more magical ability than any other pony in Equestria. Their conversation is cut short when Snips and Snails spread the word that a new unicorn with unrivaled powers has arrived in Ponyville.

In the town square, a stage unfolds from a trailer as a booming voice announces the arrival of the "The Great and Powerful Trixie". Trixie claims to be the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria and sets off some fireworks, impressing the citizens. Twilight's friends, however, are unimpressed. Twilight asks if there is something wrong with being talented. Applejack and Rarity tell her that there is nothing wrong with talent, as long as you do not boast. When Spike tries to say that Twilight is more magical than Trixie, Twilight stops him, telling him that she doesn't want her friends to think she is boastful. When Rainbow Dash demands to know what makes Trixie so special, she claims that she once saved the town of Hoofington from an "ursa major" by sending it back to The Everfree Forest. She then challenges anyone in Ponyville to step up, saying that she can surpass anyone's abilities.

Applejack accepts the challenge and performs a rodeo rope trick. Trixie makes the rope imitate a hypnotic snake that hog-ties Applejack. Rainbow Dash then gathers moisture from clouds to create a mini-rainbow, but Trixie uses magic to whirl the rainbow into a funnel and trap Rainbow Dash in it, spinning her around until she is dizzy. Rarity declines the challenge, saying that she is "above all this nonsense". But when Trixie insults her mane, she decides to demonstrate elegance by creating a costume out of stage curtains. Trixie uses her magic to turn Rarity's hair into a mottled slime-green mess with a stick and two rats' tails poking out of it. Rarity runs off in humiliation, crying, "Such an awful, awful color!" A green-haired variation of Golden Harvest frowns and says, "Well I never!" (Golden Harvest is also seen in the crowd with her regular, orange mane.) Spike tries to convince Twilight to confront the arrogant unicorn. Trixie overhears him and challenges Twilight, but Twilight runs away. With no one left to face her, Trixie declares herself to be "the most amazing unicorn in all of Equestria."

After the show, Snips and Snails deliver a smoothie to Trixie with extra hay, "just how she likes it". The colts want to hear how she defeated an ursa major, but Trixie brushes them off, telling them she's exhausted. A skeptical Spike meets the two colts, saying that proof is needed to verify Trixie's claim. Snips gets the idea of finding an ursa major in the Everfree Forest.

Back at the library where Twilight is studying, Spike tries to convince her that she can use her magic to stand up to Trixie and help her friends. However, Twilight fears she would be no better than Trixie and she would end up losing her friends by showing off. Spike is frustrated about the situation and leaves.

In the forest, Snips and Snails find a giant blue bear in a dark cave, but accidentally wake it up and lead it back to Ponyville. They wake up Trixie, who panics upon seeing the bear. The bear crushes Trixie's trailer after Trixie runs away with the two colts. After a few failed attempts to stop it, Trixie finally confesses that she had never vanquished an ursa major before.

Before the bear can wreak serious havoc on Ponyville, Twilight (who was alerted by Spike) finally uses her magic. Using the wind and cattails to play a lullaby, she soothes the creature. She levitates a water tower and fills it with milk by passing the water tower through a barn full of cows, and feeds the bear with the milk. As the bear drifts off into a deep sleep, she magically carries it back to the forest.

Twilight's friends dismiss Trixie as a loudmouth and praise Twilight's magical abilities. Twilight asks her friends if they mind her magic tricks, and Applejack reassures her that her magic is a part of who she is, and that they are proud to have such a powerful, talented unicorn as their friend. Twilight explains that the bear was actually an ursa minor, a younger version of the ursa major.

Refusing to admit she was outdone, Trixie says that Twilight will never have the same "amazing, show-stopping ability" as she does. Trixie conjures a puff of smoke that poorly conceals her hasty departure from the town. Rainbow Dash prepares to go after Trixie, but Twilight stops her, saying, "Maybe someday she'll learn her lesson."

Twilight orders Snips and Snails to clean up the area as punishment for luring the ursa minor into town. With Spike's encouragement, she gives them and Spike mustaches. Later, in the library, Twilight writes a friendship lesson to Princess Celestia that she should be proud of her magical talent, but also be aware of whether the situation is appropriate for magic. Twilight finally admits to Spike that she is the most talented unicorn in Ponyville, but "it's nothing to brag about." Spike is disappointed that Rarity did not go for his new look. Twilight advises him to try being himself, but he starts fantasizing about sporting a matching beard.


	6. Dragonshy

The chapter opens with Fluttershy giving food to some of the animals that live around her home. Fluttershy flies over to Angel, who is rapidly eating a carrot. Fluttershy tells him to slow down, otherwise he'll get a tummy ache. Angel drops the carrot and runs off. After Fluttershy catches up to him, she gives him the carrot and tells him to eat more of the carrot. After trying to get him to get him to eat a few more bites of the carrot, he kicks the carrot away and runs off again. But this time, he seems to notice something she does not: he starts coughing and, after several failed guesses from Fluttershy, points out to her an ominous cloud of black smoke heading towards Ponyville. Believing the smoke may be emerging from a possible fire, Fluttershy rushes over to warn everyone but fails to get their attention due to her soft voice and lack of assertiveness, and because the ponies in town are too occupied with their activities: Rainbow Dash tries to break a ball-bouncing record, Pinkie Pie organizes a celebration for when said record is broken, and other ponies are conversing amongst themselves. Only when Twilight arrives do the other ponies get alerted to the smoke.

The main characters gather inside Golden Oak Library, where Twilight relays news from Princess Celestia: The smoke in question is not coming from a fire, but from a sleeping dragon. Celestia warns that if the dragon is not convinced to leave, the smoke from his snoring could easily blanket Equestria for the next hundred years. Twilight and her friends are tasked with taking care of the problem.

To prepare for their journey, Rainbow Dash stripes a red, white and green pattern onto her cheeks, Applejack packs money and apples, Pinkie Pie has sunglasses and balloons exploding from her bag (she giggles then says "I mean GRRRRRRRRR"), Rarity puts on a big hat with khaki coloring and Fluttershy comes out of her house wearing a football helmet, water wings and various other sports equipment, then jumps when the door closes. The group rendezvouses near the mountain the dragon has occupied. Fluttershy, who has exhibited very little enthusiasm for going after the dragon, tries to back out of the mission, and Rainbow Dash concurs, pointing out Fluttershy's timidness and worrying that she might slow them down, something she does repeatedly throughout the episode. However, Twilight Sparkle insists that the Pegasus' talent of interacting with wild animals could be useful. Spike remains behind to look over the critters that Fluttershy usually takes care of, over her objections.

Initially, Rainbow Dash's skepticism seems justified. Upon hearing the dragon's distant snoring, Fluttershy's limbs lock up, rendering her unable to fly. Another snore makes her stiffly fall to the side, accompanied by a goat bleat, alluding to the tendency of some breeds of goat to stiffen after being startled. Applejack is forced to drag her the long way around to catch up to the other ponies. Later, after her ability to move on her own has returned, she still has trouble leaping over a narrow chasm, having to be encouraged by one of Pinkie Pie's songs; and a leaf falling on her back makes her cry out, inadvertently causing a rock slide that almost buries them and further extends their journey.

They do eventually reach their destination: the cave where the dragon is resting. Twilight wants to go in with Fluttershy, in the hope that between the two of them, they can convince the dragon to leave. But Fluttershy says she is scared of fully-grown dragons. After a failed attempt to cheer Fluttershy on, her friends decide to finish the job without her.

Twilight tries to reason with the dragon, but is completely ignored. Then Rarity tries to use her charm on it, but fails when she tries to lay claim to the dragon's jewels. Pinkie Pie enters the dragon's cave in a funny costume with balloons, flippers, giant glasses, and a party blower, but exits without success. All Rainbow Dash's brute force attempt accomplishes is making the dragon angry: it steps outside the cave and begins attacking the ponies. In the process, the ponies get knocked over, and Fluttershy's hiding place is destroyed, exposing her to the dragon.

Looking at her dazed friends, she gains enough courage to fly up to the dragon and admonish him for what she calls his bullying. Cowed by Fluttershy's tone, the dragon tries to justify his anger by explaining that Rainbow Dash kicked him. Much to Rainbow Dash's confusion, Fluttershy apologizes for Dash's attack on the dragon, but also says that the dragon is bigger than the ponies and should be more considerate. She also admonishes him for sleeping in a place where his snoring could endanger the health of other creatures. The dragon weakly attempts to argue back, but Fluttershy won't let him. After he has been scolded so harshly that he bursts into tears, Fluttershy comforts him, and the dragon leaves the mountain.

The ponies return to Ponyville, where Spike is struggling to keep Angel in check. Twilight Sparkle relays a message to Princess Celestia that the mission was a success, and that she learned to never lose faith in her friends. Outside the library the main characters watch Rainbow Dash once again trying to beat the ball-bouncing record. Pinkie plays a prank on her and imitates a dragon's roar, which makes Rainbow briefly lock up in fear in a similar way to Fluttershy earlier in the episode. Still, the two Pegasi's roles are not entirely reversed; when Rainbow Dash blows another stray leaf onto Fluttershy's back, she freezes up and faints. The chapter ends with the main characters laughing at the frozen Fluttershy.


	7. Look Before You Sleep

The chapter opens in a field outside the Golden Oak Library; several Pegasi are seen moving clouds into place to create a downpour. In preparation for this, trees are being pruned to avoid damaging the town. Rarity helps out, but her contribution to the cleanup effort involves making topiary out of the loose branches. This puts her at odds with Applejack, who insists on taking the branches down. When Rarity voices her disapproval of Applejack making a mess, rain starts to fall, much to Rarity's further displeasure.

As the two argue even more over their situation, the rain and wind pick up speed. Twilight Sparkle, noticing the two caught in the storm, offers them shelter in the library until the storm passes.

With Spike away in Canterlot on royal business, Twilight is alone for the evening, and sees this as an opportunity to have her very first slumber party. Rarity and Applejack are far from eager to spend the entire evening in each other's company, but find themselves unable to leave due to the worsening storm. After a brief argument about mud masks, they agree to try and get along so they don't ruin Twilight's first sleepover.

Twilight is oblivious to Applejack and Rarity's silent bickering, checking off each game in her book as they're played. However, for each game played, the two grow more and more frustrated with each other.

During ghost stories, Rarity and Applejack suggest stories that allude to why they don't like each other before Twilight tells the legend of The Headless Horse, succeeding in scaring both of her friends. Applejack sickens Rarity by burping when they make s'mores. And in a game of Truth or Dare, Applejack and Rarity only dare each other to do humiliating things, such as Applejack daring Rarity to get her mane wet in the rain and Rarity daring Applejack to wear a gaudy, ridiculous outfit.

Twilight, now sensing conflict, tries to move things along. Unfortunately, the conflict comes to a head during the next game: a pillow fight, which in no time turns into an all-out pillow _war b_etween Rarity and Applejack. Caught in the middle and bombarded with pillows, Twilight suggests that they call it a night and go to bed.

Applejack and Rarity's petty arguing continues even when the ponies try to go to bed. Exasperated by their constant back and forth, Twilight at last decides to intervene and voices how upset she is that her friends are fighting too much to have any fun, thereby ruining her slumber party. Just as Twilight asks if anything else could possibly go wrong, a nearby tree is hit by lightning and begins to topple towards a neighboring house.

Applejack, not heeding a warning from Rarity, lassos the falling tree and instead of stabilizing it, sends it crashing through Twilight's bedroom window. Rarity focuses on cleaning up the mess of books and Applejack tries to push the tree back out of the window while Twilight desperately searches through her slumber party book for a section on dealing with fallen trees in the middle of the bedroom.

When Applejack fails at moving the tree out on her own, she eventually apologizes to Rarity for criticizing her attention to detail and convinces her to focus on helping with the bigger task instead. She gets Rarity to not worry so much about getting her hooves dirty. Rarity uses her unicorn magic to turn the treetop into tiny bush sculptures, clearing the house at the cost of getting dirt all over herself. Applejack, at Rarity's insistence, proceeds to gently toss the broken tree trunk out of the window.

With the storm, and their differences, finally settled, Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight are finally able to have fun, rounding out the evening with a game of 20 Questions. Applejack and Rarity exchange apologies, and in the end, Twilight officially declares the slumber party a success, to her friends' delight.

In a letter to Princess Celestia, Twilight writes that it's possible to get along with someone very different from you if you embrace each other's differences. She proposes another slumber party the following night, and her proposal is met by two pillows thrown in her face. The chapter closes as the sky clears up, revealing a bright sunny day.


	8. Bridle Gossip

Twilight Sparkle and Spike arrive in Ponyville's town square to find the town completely deserted. While they speculate about where everyone could be, Pinkie Pie fervently calls to them from Sugarcube Corner, telling them to get inside before "she" gets them. Inside, they find Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy, who nervously explain that they are hiding from a strange hooded creature named Zecora. The only pony not scared is Applejack's younger sister Apple Bloom, also present. According to the other ponies, no one in Ponyville knows what Zecora's reasons for visiting the town are, except that she does so monthly. They also know that she lives in The Everfree Forest, a self-preserving environment which is almost alien to Ponyville. After seeing her pull her hood down, Twilight concludes that Zecora is a zebra and not an "odd-looking pony". The gray and white in her strange mane are really her natural colors. According to books Twilight has read, Zecora's species is from "a far away land". Pinkie Pie shares a song with the others, profiling Zecora as an "Evil Enchantress".

While the ponies are busy discussing Zecora's nature, Apple Bloom decides to approach Zecora herself and slips out of the bakery. She follows Zecora to The Everfree Forest. Upon noticing Apple Bloom's absence, the other ponies decide to leave the house to search for her.

They find Apple Bloom when she is just behind Zecora, who is surrounded by many blue flowers. The zebra retreats to the forest, giving them a brief warning: "Beware! Beware, you pony folk! Those leaves of blue are not a joke!" Applejack scoops Apple Bloom off the ground while the other ponies, save Twilight and Fluttershy, taunt the zebra and ignore her warning. On their way back, Twilight tries to explain to her friends the difference between magic and Zecora's "curses" but to no avail. Twilight classifies the "curses" as harmless and fictional "pony tales". However, Applejack warns her that some "pony tales" are indeed true. As the ponies leave the forest, they all trot through the "blue flowers" except for Apple Bloom, who is carried out on Applejack's back.

During the night, Twilight dreams about Zecora and her friends' warnings of her evil. The next morning, Twilight wakes up after recalling everything her friends said about the strange zebra. As she brushes her hair, she is shocked to find her horn turned soft, wobbly, and covered in blue spots. She frantically searches for a book containing a way to fix her problem, or at least provide information on it, but cannot find anything useful. Spike finds a book called _Supernaturals_ that she may have overlooked, but she insists that there's no need to even open it because it details superstitions or other useless information. Her friends arrive at the library, each with an ailment of their own. Pinkie Pie's now blue-spotted tongue is swollen to the point of hanging out of her mouth, and she can't speak intelligibly or without spitting. Rainbow Dash's wings have been inverted and moved from her back to her lower sides, preventing her from flying properly and causing her to crash constantly. Rarity's mane and tail are messy and her coat has grown so long that she cannot see or walk properly. Applejack has drastically shrunken in size and has to ride on Apple Bloom just to get to the library, and Fluttershy is afflicted with a deep-sounding male voice. Spike laughs himself silly at the ponies and, in making good-natured fun of their misfortune, makes up nicknames for each pony:

"Hairity" (Rarity)

"Rainbow Crash" (Rainbow Dash)

"Spitty Pie" (Pinkie Pie)

"Apple Teeny" (Applejack)

"Flutterguy" (Fluttershy)

Spike, however, can't immediately think of a proper name to make fun of Twilight's wobbly horn.

The ponies, with the exception of Twilight, conclude that Zecora has "cursed" or "hexed" them, and they resolve to confront her in the forest in hopes of finding a cure. But Apple Bloom, the only one that was not afflicted, believes she alone is to blame for the ponies' ailments and ventures ahead to find Zecora. As Apple Bloom leaves, Applejack wonders aloud where she is going and jumps into her tail. When the others notice Applejack is missing, they first worriedly check to see if they've stepped or sat on her. Upon realizing that Apple Bloom is also gone, the ponies realize she must have gone after Zecora again and set out in search of her. As the ponies leave, Fluttershy asks Spike if he is coming along, but he makes up an alibi to stay there to look for a cure. He manages to think up a joke-like nickname for Twilight Sparkle: "Twilight Flopple".

On her way through the Everfree Forest, Applejack reveals herself in Apple Bloom's mane and orders her to turn around. Apple Bloom refuses and, realizing that her diminutive older sister can't stop her, places her on a tree branch she can't get down from before continuing on her way. When the others enter the forest later, Rainbow Dash crashes into the tree Applejack was left in, accidentally catching the tiny pony in her mouth. Applejack pulls herself out and quickly fashions a bit and reins from leaves, a stick, and some vine. She throws it on Rainbow Dash and, climbing onto her chest, helps to steer her in the right direction.

When the others finally reach Zecora's hut, they watch through her window as she mixes a strange concoction in her cauldron, chanting something in an unknown language. Pinkie gets Fluttershy to sing her "Evil Enchantress" song to point out that Zecora fits the profile in it. Twilight starts to wonder whether Zecora might be "bad" after all. When she overhears the zebra mentioning Apple Bloom, she concludes that Zecora is preparing a soup to eat her with. The four ponies scream in horror. Rainbow Dash and Applejack barge in and the other ponies follow suit in a rescue attempt, upsetting the cauldron and spilling its contents onto the floor. The hut is further wrecked by Rainbow Dash's uncoordinated flying. As the ponies loudly confront Zecora about her "curse", Apple Bloom arrives from behind them with packed saddle bags and tells them she is assisting Zecora by gathering ingredients. They both reveal that the brew Zecora had been making is a remedy for poison joke, a poison ivy-like plant that causes "laughable" results to anyone who touches it. They had never been cursed, but had been affected by the blue plants, and were too stubborn to heed Zecora's warning the previous day when they saw her. The cure is from one of Zecora's books, another copy of the book that Spike found in the library. Twilight admits she didn't bother looking past its weird title. It turns out that the _Supernaturals_ in the book's title were _natural remedies and cure-alls that are simply super_. After apologizing to Zecora for not bothering to "look inside", Twilight asks if Zecora could make another batch of the remedy. Zecora is happy to do so, but she tells Twilight they need a herb from Ponyville, which she could not obtain because the shops are always mysteriously closed.

The ponies escort Zecora back to town, where the other ponies are still afraid of her. Twilight talks to the concerned ponies. Soon after, the main characters having a bath at the spa. One of the spa ponies asks Zecora for the recipe of her "luxurious" herbal bath, and the chapter ends with all the ponies cured of their poison joke afflictions, after briefly panicking over not finding Applejack.


	9. Swarm of the Century

The chapter begins in a field near the Everfree Forest, where Fluttershy is gathering flowers for Princess Celestia's visit to Ponyville. A small creature that Fluttershy has never seen before appears. She offers it an apple, but it devours a bucketful of apples despite its small size. Fluttershy is surprised, but she adopts the creature and plans on showing it to her friends.

The rest of Ponyville is also preparing for the Princess's arrival. Twilight Sparkle tells Spike that Golden Oak Library has to be spotless, and everything has to be perfect. Twilight goes to check on the rest of the preparations. In Sugarcube Corner, she catches Pinkie Pie eating cakes and other sweets that the shop owners, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, have made for the Princess. Pinkie Pie says that she is sampling the sweets to ensure their quality. Fluttershy enters the bakery to show Twilight and Pinkie Pie the creature she found, but inexplicably, two more of the same creatures pop out. Twilight adopts one of them so Spike can have a companion. Pinkie Pie, however, reacts in disgust, calling them "parasprites". She says that she needs a trombone, and leaves the bakery.

In Carousel Boutique, Rarity is putting the finishing touches on Rainbow Dash's elaborate dress. Twilight enters and praises Rarity's dresses that she designed specially for the royal visit. When Twilight takes out her parasprite, she discovers that she is carrying not one, but three of them. Rarity and Rainbow Dash gladly adopt the extra parasprites.

The next day, Twilight Sparkle and Spike are shocked to find their house filled with parasprites. The parasprites are impossible to control and they freely destroy books and parchments. Meanwhile, in Rainbow Dash's home in Cloudsdale, Rainbow Dash's parasprites cling to her body, driving her mad. Rarity is fond of her helpful swarm until she witnesses the parasprites' unsightly method of reproduction; namely, coughing up/vomiting new parasprites. Even Fluttershy has lost control over the swarm in her house. Twilight realizes that if the situation isn't handled immediately, Celestia's visit will be a disaster. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie is busy gathering an assortment of musical instruments, including a harmonica, a banjo, and a pair of maracas. Her friends assume she is just being random and disregard her efforts to collect more instruments.

Applejack directs her friends in an attempt to round up the parasprites. The ponies succeed in driving the parasprites into the Everfree Forest. Unfortunately, when the friends head back to Fluttershy's house, a dense swarm of parasprites bursts out. Fluttershy admits that she had kept a parasprite because she couldn't help herself. Rainbow Dash steps up to the plate by creating a tornado that sucks in the parasprites. Everything is working until Pinkie Pie walks up to them, sporting a pair of cymbals. The cymbals are drawn into the tornado; Rainbow Dash tries to dodge them, but they break her concentration and the tornado falls apart. The parasprite horde flies into Ponyville and the friends run after them, ignoring Pinkie's attempt to explain why she was gathering the instruments in the first place.

The ponies watch in horror as the parasprites begin to eat all the food in town. Twilight casts a spell to stop the parasprites from consuming food. However, the parasprites start devouring everything that ''isn't'' food: signposts, lamps, Rarity's dresses, and even the words from Twilight's books. Twilight brings a parasprite to Zecora's house in the Everfree Forest, hoping the zebra can find a solution. Zecora easily recognizes the parasprite, but even she doesn't know how to get rid of them. Frantic and almost hysterical, Twilight begins to formulate a plan to build a replica of Ponyville next to the real one before the Princess's arrival, but Celestia's royal procession appears on the horizon.

When all seems lost, Pinkie Pie shows up with a one-pony band, playing the instruments she gathered. Twilight suspected this to be another one of her games, but she and her friends watch as the parasprites become attracted to the music and follow the "Pinkie Pied Piper" out of Ponyville.

At the town's outskirts, the friends meet Princess Celestia, who thinks the orderly, bouncing parasprites are part of a parade in her honor. She informs Twilight that she needs to cancel her Ponyville visit to deal with an infestation of some "incredibly bothersome creatures" in Fillydelphia. Celestia asks Twilight if she would like to give a report on friendship before she leaves. Twilight tells her mentor that the solutions to one's problems can come from unlikely sources, and that it's a good idea to listen to your friends' opinions and perspectives, even if they don't seem to make any sense. Commenting on how impressed she is with Twilight Sparkle and her friends, Celestia takes off.

The friends apologize to Pinkie Pie for not listening to her. Twilight tells her that she is a great friend even though they don't always understand her, and thank her for saving Ponyville. The friends walk back to Ponyville, and the chapter ends when Pinkie Pie comically plays a trombone to express their dismay at the ruins.


	10. Winter Wrap Up

The chapter begins in Golden Oak Library, where an eager Twilight Sparkle awakens ready to take part in this activity and is willing to keep with tradition by not using her unicorn magic. Spike is annoyed about losing sleep over his friend's excitement. Twilight tells Spike that Ponyville was founded by the Earth ponies, and as such, no magic was ever involved in the Winter Wrap Up, an annual "spring cleaning" community event where winter ends and spring is introduced. In this case, the ponies _literally_ clean up winter to prepare for spring. Twilight checks off everything (even Spike complaining and going back to sleep) before heading outside, only to discover that it's not even dawn yet.

In the morning, with a sleepy Spike on her back, Twilight arrives at the center of Ponyville where the Mayor finishes her final speech before the cleanup is divided into three teams: Weather, Animals, and Plants, all wearing Rarity-designed vests of blue, tan, and green respectively. However, Twilight is unable to find an appropriate team to work with, and sings about it. She volunteers to help Weather Team leader Rainbow Dash and her flight crew, but she is gently reminded that she has no wings to fly with. Twilight finds Animal Team member Fluttershy and official nest designer Rarity outside the Carousel Boutique, just as she finishes her first nest. Rarity explains that she is nest-weaving for the birds being guided back from the south. Twilight tries her hoof at it, but the one she makes is messy. Twilight leaves to find another line of work while Rarity tries to fix Twilight's nest.

Twilight and Spike then run into Weather Team member Pinkie Pie on one of the frozen lakes, where they find out Pinkie has been an expert skater ever since she was young. She is tasked with scoring the ice so that it will melt more easily when the Weather Team Pegasi clear away the clouds. Twilight tries to help, but it's her first time on skates and she lacks the balance and finesse to ice skate without falling. After Twilight causes them both to crash into a snow bank, Pinkie Pie suggests that Fluttershy could probably use a hand with the critters.

Next, Twilight tries to assist Animal Team member Fluttershy with waking all the animals from hibernation. She seems to have an easy job ahead of her, until she is scared by a den of snakes. Panicked, she backs away into a cave of bats, gets stung by bees, and is sprayed by skunks. While Twilight is busy bathing in tomato juice at home, Spike suggests that she should break her "no-magic" promise so her work would be easier, but Twilight refuses.

That changes when she helps Plant Team leader Applejack and the plant team with clearing the snow from the fields, with one-pony-powered snow plows in order to prepare for seed planting. Twilight wants to man a plow but Applejack hesitates, but relents when Twilight asks to give her a chance. However, despite her best efforts, Twilight is unable to push the snow plow. Twilight decides to use a "come-to-life" spell to move the plow. Unfortunately, the spell soon goes out of control, resulting in an even bigger mess than before. Applejack berates Twilight for her use of magic, and Twilight runs off in tears.

With no options left, Twilight hides in a bush in the town square refusing to come out, but she soon overhears that no one else in Ponyville is faring much better. Applejack wants Rainbow Dash's weather Pegasi to get the snow quickly melted for seeding, but Fluttershy wants Rainbow Dash to wait until she can clear the animal homes beforehand. The ice covering the lakes is not melting quickly enough due to poor scoring. Rarity was so focused on fixing Twilight's nest all day that she hasn't made more, and she was supposed to have finished several hundred by now. Big McIntosh leads Caramel to Applejack, who guesses correctly that he has lost the grass seeds again, and another pony tells Rainbow Dash that Ditzy Doo has gone north to guide back the southern birds. The mayor laments that her motivational speech from earlier had fallen on deaf ears. It appears that Ponyville will finish their Winter Wrap-up late, just like every past year, and it will soon be sunset. At this point, Twilight remembers her one _other_ talent besides magic: organization. She breaks up the argument and volunteers to guide everyone in their tasks.

With careful planning, teamwork, and everyone working through the night, the residents of Ponyville are finally able to finish their work on time. Thanks to her exceptional organizing and leadership skills, Twilight is designated the new position of 'All-Team Organizer' by the Mayor, along with a new and unique vest by Rarity as all the ponies celebrate their accomplishment. After Mayor Mare declares winter wrapped up on time, the ponies share a laugh at Spike, who's fallen asleep on an ice floe, blissfully unaware of the predicament he's currently in.

Twilight Sparkle relays her report to Princess Celestia, learning that everyone has hidden talents, and if they're patient and diligent, they'll find them. She also learned that everyone can accomplish anything when they work together and treat each other as friends. Before she can send her report, however, a cold-ridden Spike drops off to sleep, causing Twilight to laugh.


End file.
